1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid preparation suitable for the treatment of washed fabrics which transfers to the fabrics from an aqueous solution and provides them with softness and smoothness.
Washed fabrics are often treated with certain agents which provide the fabrics with desired properties, for example softness, anti-static properties, microbicidal properties, flame-retarding properties, water-repellent properties, absorbency, smoothness, and fragrance. Preparations containing suitable active substances may act on the fabrics either during or after washing, for example during rinsing or in the dryer. Preparations containing active substances which are either soluble or dispersible in the aqueous medium are suitable for application to fabrics in aqueous liquors. Active substances that are completely or substantially insoluble or non-dispersible in water are frequently applied in dryers where the active substances soften at the high temperatures in the dryer and are mechanically transferred in this state to the fabrics which come into contact with them. Certain fabric treatment preparations contain combinations of active substances so that the fabrics treated with them are given many of the desired properties at one and the same time.
2. Discussin of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,316, for example, describes final-rinse preparations for washed fabrics which contain both fabricsoftening and antimicrobial substances, the fabric-softening component being a combination of a fatty acid/hydroxyalkyl polyamine condensate and a quaternary ammonium compound, while the antimicrobial agent is also a quaternary ammonium compound, but one that is different from the fabric-softening quaternary ammonium compound. Another example of a fabric treatment preparation is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,340. This preparation, which is intended for use in an automatic dryer, contains a combination of active substances which both softens and freshens the treated fabrics. The fabric-freshening component of this known preparation consists of alcohols, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid salts, optionally paraffin, an ester component or mixture of such compounds. In addition, the preparation may contain fragrances, antistatic agents, disinfectants, bactericides, fungicides and flame-retarding agents.